I'm Coming After You!
by Cairistona
Summary: one-shot. Prowl has half a day off work, and Auri proposes a game of cops-n-robbers. A little chase ensues with fun and clues. Super fluffy. A little ProwlxOC.


Hello!

Here is the fluffy kiriban one-shot that **SJSgirl** won a while back for leaving the 500th review on my long fic _My Family, My Home_. (Sorry it took so long!) It was a pain to get started on because my muses wouldn't cooperate, but then ideas formed and took off and it was so fun! So much fluffiness!

This was originally written as a song-fic, but I got told that wasn't allowed, so I have taken the lyrics out. The song was "I'm Coming After You" is from the album _The Midsummer Section_ and belongs to Owl City. You can find it online, along with his other wonderful songs. I love this song and think it's adorable. I always think of my ProwlxAuri pairing when I hear or listen to it, and SJSgirl was a darling said I could do whatever, so I picked it. Auri is my OC. X)

Enjoy!

* * *

Prowl would have to leave his office soon. The schedule said that he was only to work for half the day. Ratchet and Prime and Ironhide would have things to say if he didn't obey it. They would rebuke him for overworking. They often did, and he deserved it, he supposed.

He began putting things away and tidying up.

He was almost done when the door swung open and Auri bounced in, her blue optics twinkling as she grinned at him. Usually she would have been working with him, but she'd had a weapons training session with Chromia that morning. Two and a half years, she'd been on earth, and she'd worked as Prowl's assistant for most of that time. Prowl had slowly gotten fairly used to her and her ways, and they worked together almost perfectly now. Sometimes they spent time outside the office. Sometimes.

"Are you still here working?" Auri asked. She knew he was only supposed to work a half day.

"Have you become Ratchet?" he asked in return, ducking his helm to hide a smile from the small Praxian femme. He opened a drawer in his desk to settle several data-pads within.

"I'm a minion of his," she said in a mock-serious tone. "I shall report you if I deem it proper."

Prowl paused and glanced up at her and her pretty pink paintjob.

"I thought you were on my side," he said slowly, working on getting into make-believe mode.

Auri pursued her lips and shifted a wing. "I'm a double agent," she decided, optics twinkling playfully.

"A double agent. Well. I shall have to be more careful about what information I let you handle, then," he said, sounding absolutely serious now. He never did anything halfway. If they were going to play make-believe, he would play it to the best of his ability. He slid another data-pad off the desk and put it in the drawer.

"You shall indeed," Auri said, coming over close to the corner of his desk, the one nearest where he was working. "Prowl?"

"Yes?" he looked up, and she kissed his cheek without warning.

Then she stepped back with a smile.

"Auri-" he reproved. "No. That…" he liked her kisses (all three or four that he'd had now), but such a thing could not be permitted in a work setting. "That is not appropriate here. Also, I do not approve of the manner in which you did that. Please refrain from doing do so in such a manner in the future."

"Yes, Prowl," Auri said. She hid a smile well, and Prowl went on to lock his desk.

"What are you going to do this afternoon?" he asked, half for conversation's sake and half for his own curiosity. If she wasn't doing anything, and he was off work, they could do some weapons training or practice police driving tactics.

"I was thinking we could play a game," Auri said, watching hopefully to see his response.

"What sort of game?" He was interested, but logical bot that he was, he knew better than to agree to anything without knowing the details first.

"Mmm… something like cops-n-robbers,"

He raised an optic-ridge and gave her a dry look.

"Police and robbers," she amended, eliminating the slang word that bothered him. "I would be the robber. And you would have to track me down and find me. I would leave clues and such."

Prowl considered this. It would be like a game of moving hide and seek mixed with tag. That could be fun.

"Well?" Auri coaxed, and Prowl could see the anticipation in her optics. She had planned things out. He couldn't disappoint her; he knew he couldn't. And he knew she would make things fun for him.

He gave her a smile. "Alright," he said with nod. "What are the parameters?"

Auri grinned. "Just obey all base rules per the usual. You can do anything you want or need to find me, and when –_if_- you catch me, then you can ask questions to find out what I stole."

Prowl paused, optics widening. "Did you _actually_ steal something?"

Auri giggled. "Oh, Prowl. Yes, but it's not anything anyone will miss, and I'll give it back at the end of the game."

He was genuinely troubled now. "Auri, you cannot just steal stuff."

"Prowl. I borrowed it."

"You cannot steal something and say you were just borrowing it," Prowl protested.

Auri sighed at him. "Prowl, don't you trust me?"

Prowl paused. "Yes, but…"

"And you know I wouldn't do anything I know to be wrong, don't you?"

Prowl nodded and made himself be at peace. "Yes," he said. "I shall trust you and your judgment."

"And you shall enjoy the game."

"Yes, ma'am."

Auri giggled at that, entertained as she always was when Prowl addressed her as a superior or ranking equal.

"Okay," she said. "I'm going to go now. Wait fifteen minutes, and then you can start looking for me."

"Very well," Prowl said, starting some calculations on how far she could go in that amount of time. He decided that he would do things the hardest way possible so she would have half a chance. She was a smart little femme, but she was far too inexperienced in the field of Enforcer work to compete with him.

Auri grinned and then slipped out the door.

Prowl went to the window to spy on her for just a minute. She stood there for a couple moments, facing the road, her back to the window, and then she peeked over her wing at the window. The window was tinted so no one could see in; Prowl knew she couldn't tell that he was there, but he knew that she was guessing he was. She knew how he worked, for the most part.

She smiled, and then she headed up the street.

Prowl went back to his desk and ran a cloth over everything so it would be nice and clean when he returned to it.

Then he stepped outdoors and locked the door. He had seven minutes left, so he sat down on the curb to wait. From his data on the speed limits, he knew almost precisely how far she could have driven in fifteen minutes. His guesses on how far she could have walked varied, though; she had different paces, varying from an easy amble to an almost running-walk. The running-walk wouldn't get her farther than driving would, though, so she had probably driven.

Once Prowl had the distances figured out, he briefly considered how many places she could hide within those distances. He dismissed all the human-sized buildings, and then considered the Cybertronian-sized buildings. The optimal one of those was half the distance she could have traveled.

He paused. Would she go to the best hiding place, though? That was the first place he would look. She would know to avoid it.

However…

If she knew he would calculate to _not_ look the best place first, then wouldn't she try to fool him by going to the best place?

He frowned. Why would she hide? Moving would be a better option.

He suddenly realized that he had little idea of what her tactics would be.

::Prowl,:: Auri intercommed.

::Yes?::

::It's past time for you to start. Why are you just sitting there?::

Prowl's wings shifted upwards a little, and his optics shifted to the security cameras. He hid a cunning smile.

::I was thinking,:: he replied, shifting his pedes. He got up. She had accessed the security cameras. Only certain bots had remote access to security feeds, and she wasn't one of them, so she had to be at security headquarters, which was just two blocks away from his office.

Why would she stay so close when she could run? Prowl wondered. He hesitated. This wasn't making sense.

::Prowl,: Auri's tone was gentle.

::Yes?::

::Stop trying to figure everything out before you move. Just go ahead.::

Prowl cycled air through his system as those words touched his spark. While she was talking about their game, Prowl felt that the advice could be applied to his life in general and his relationship with her in specific. He always had to figure out what to do before he even started to do it. He had to plan everything out and think ahead. He almost feared spontaneity.

Auri was spontaneous, though. She did things seemingly without forethought. She thought ahead just enough to get by most of the time. Once he had started to let her into his life, she had started pulling him to do things more spur-of-the-moment. She thought outside of his logical box, and while it troubled him sometimes, he was learning to handle it and even enjoy it at times.

He couldn't figure out what to do about him and her, though. He wanted to move closer, but he was afraid for the future because the past had been so cruel to him. He didn't want her to be pulled into the darkness that followed his pedes. He was stuck trying to figuring everything out before moving.

::Still thinking, Prowl?:: Auri was teasing just a little.

::I am always thinking,:: he sent back, smiling just a hint. ::I will move now, though. And you should, too, if you are where I think you are.::

He went around the block and opened the door to security headquarters. "Hello," he greeted Inferno.

Inferno jerked his pedes off his desk, putting them on the floor quickly. "Hello," he replied, straightening in his chair a bit. "Um, what can I do for you?" He'd clearly not been expecting Prowl to stop by, and this puzzled Prowl. Auri would have told Inferno that he was coming f she had been there.

Prowl cocked his helm. "Was Auri here?" he asked.

Inferno looked slightly baffled. "Uh, naw, she wasn't." He paused. "Was she supposed to?"

"I thought she would be here…" Prowl said, solidly confused now. Where was she that she could see him without him seeing her?

"Oh-!" Prowl said suddenly, wings flicking up in surprise. Inferno gave him a look of curiosity, but he paid no mind to the big mech. He dashed out of security headquarters and hurried back to his office.

The door was unlocked, and he burst in to find a note on his desk.

_[Hehe! I slipped in the back door once you exited the front one. I watched you through tinted window. Did you see what I left for you at security headquarters? Hope you're hungry! :D]_

Prowl smiled at the note. She'd been a clever femme-ling with the windows, but she couldn't fool him into going back to security headquarters. Inferno had already said that she hadn't been by, and his manner had indicated that he wasn't lying.

Prowl fingered the note for a moment, and then he head for the pub. There wasn't anything for him at security headquarters, so 'hungry' had to be a clue word.

OoOoOoOoO

Auri pulled an alloy pretzel partially apart and dipped one end in a little dish of creamed oil. She nibbled it carefully as she sat on the counter at the pub.

Nobody was in the pub besides her and Tracks, who was dragging washcloth indulgently over a clean and polished table.

"I don't usually stop for snacks when I'm on the run," he commented, leaning on the table. Auri had told him about her game.

"I was only planning on being here a minute, but then I realized I was hungry and had to eat," Auri said. She paused to lick some of the oil off her fingertips. "I have time, anyway," she added, dipping another piece of pretzel in the creamed oil. "Prowl will have to go back to security-headquarters and question Inferno and grill him to make sure he isn't lying. That will take a while."

"Oh…?" Track said, and something in his tone made Auri look up from her pretzel. Tracks was looking at the back entrance, which was behind and to the right of Auri.

Auri shot the door a glance and saw Prowl, a truly fearsome smirk on his face.

"Nyee!" She dropped her pretzel and jumped off the counter, bolting for the front door. Then she gasped and skidded to a stop. Tracks had just mopped that section of the floor-

She darted a look at Prowl. He was approaching.

Auri took a cautious step onto the wet floor and then two more. She couldn't make it to the door before Prowl would catch her, but she wanted to play some more.

"Um…" she turned to look at Prowl.

Prowl raised an optic-ridge. "Do you surrender?" he asked, coming a little closer. "I'll go easy if you don't put up a fight." He held out a hand.

Auri suddenly realized that while she'd dropped her pretzel, she'd kept the little cup of creamed oil in her hand. It was hidden in her fist.

"Um…" She hoped she hadn't telegraphed some plan accidently. He could always read her so well. Even a little wing movement from her told him things. She looked at carefully at his optics and saw a little calculating look in them. She suspected that he was suspicious.

She took a slow sideways step towards the door, optics on Prowl. He lowered his chin and raised an optic-ridge.

"Really?" he questioned her decision to run.

She smiled and took another step.

He shook his helm and narrowed the space between them with a few steps.

She took a quick step and grabbed the door handle as she slipped. She sat down hard with a wince.

"Auri," Prowl was reproachful and sympathetic at the same time. He came close. "You should have been more careful," he said, crouching to give her a hand up. "I didn- ACK!"

Auri scrambled out the door.

OoOoOoOoO

Prowl, sprawled on the floor, decided that he wasn't going to catch her just yet. Had he been chasing an actual criminal, he would have stumbled after her. As it was, it was just a game, and it could go on a bit longer. He sat up at his leisure and started to wipe the creamed oil from his optics, blinking. Then he smiled.

As provoking as food-in-the-face was, Prowl couldn't help but be impressed at the little femme. He'd never known her to play dirty, and hitting him in the face with a cup of creamed oil was quite a bold step in that direction. He lowered his helm to hide a smile. He knew she was tougher than she looked, and he knew that she could "get the big guns out" as Chromia would put it, but he hadn't expected to have them turned on him.

Prowl picked himself up, and Tracks was there, offering him a clean cloth.

"Thank-you," Prowl said, accepting it. He wiped his face and hands and a bit of his chest armor. "I really didn't see that coming," he commented.

Tracked chuckled. "Neither did I. I was as surprised as you looked."

Prowl handed the cloth back and then scanned the room to see if Auri had left any clues or notes. He wasn't sure if there would be any because he'd arrived quite before she'd expected him to. He would figure something out, though. And then he'd catch her.

::Prowl?:: Auri's intercom tone was concerned.

::Yes?:: he smiled a little as he replied.

::I hope you aren't sore about that.::

::On the contrary. I was impressed by such a gearsy move,:: he replied honestly. Then he sensed Auri's smile, and he knew she was pleased with being called 'gearsy.'

::I only thought of it at the last moment,:: she said. ::See if you can find me now.::

He headed for Med-Bay. If 'hungry' had been the clue-word for the pub, 'sore' would likely be a clue-word for Med-Bay. Auri rarely used the word "sore"; she usually said "upset" or "mad."

::You didn't leave a clue at the pub,:: he said, crossing an intersection.

::And that's why I intercommed.:: Her tone was playful and eager.

Prowl half-smiled. ::I see. You're going to tell me your exact location?:: he teased mildly.

::Silly Prowl,:: she said fondly. ::Nope.::

::Alright. What _are_ you going to tell me?::

::I can tell you that you're fun.::

::And?::

::Chromia always says you're so good-looking.::

::Chromia says that about any mech with doorwings. She has a thing for them.:: Prowl's door-wings felt self-conscious as he said this.

::Well, they _are_ nice to look at.::

Prowl found himself half-smiling at this. She probably meant door-wings in general, but… but… she _could_ (not likely but possibly) mean his. Maybe someday she would mean his.

::Okay,:: Prowl said after a moment. ::What else will you tell? Perhaps something as to your whereabouts?::

::I'm on earth.::

::Oh, that is good to know,:: he teased.

::And… let's see. I'm in a building on our base…::

::Oh, a building? With walls and a roof and everything?::

::Hehehe! That was silly! Did you drink high-grade at the pub?:: she was clearly tickled and delighted.

Prowl smiled, pleased with the result of his brief sally into the ridiculous.

::No, I simply got a creamed oil facial.::

::D'aw, Prowl-!::

Prowl bit back a chuckle as he knew that she was giggling and probably giggling pretty hard.

He dropped the conversation for a few minutes so it would seem like he was thinking.

::Did you go east or west?:: he asked.

::Spoilers, Sweetie,:: she replied playfully.

::More specifically, did you head for the communications base?::

::Why that guess, Prowl?::

:You pointed out that you intercommed. –a broad hint for communication, I would think.::

::Very nice and logical, Prowl.:: She sounded like she was smiling.

Prowl smiled himself because he was climbing the wall of the Med-Bay courtyard.

::Logical, yes, but is it right?:: Prowl persisted as he quickly yet quietly went to the Med-Bay courtyard door

::That's another spoilers question,::

::Ah.:: Prowl nudged the door open just enough to peek in. Auri was sitting cross-legged on a berth, her back to the courtyard door. She was toying with a stylus the way she usually did when she was trying to figure out what to write.

"All this is really tricky," She said contemplatively, addressing Ratchet, who was portioning out some powdered metals into small containers.

Ratchet chuckled softly. "Things generally are when you go up against one of the sharpest Enforcers who ever came from Praxus."

"And he's barely even trying," Auri added with a rueful giggle. "He could easily just grab the security footage and catch me in two seconds."

Prowl slipped indoors and ducked behind a wheeled table. He peeked and saw Ratchet glance around briefly before returning to his work.

"He's probably glad for something to do," Ratchet said. "If he caught you in two seconds, the game would be over."

"Uh-huh…" Auri trailed off to regard her data-pad. "I think this sounds good," she decided. "It could point to different four places, I think. It _should_ throw him off just little. Or at least buy me a tiny bit of time to write the next clue. Next time, I'm going to preplan all my clues."

Prowl smiled. He'd slipped out from behind the table and crept, half-crawling, to the berth that Auri was sitting on.

"And I'm…" Auri paused as Prowl stood up behind her. She shifted a wing, the sensory panels on it picking up the change in air-flow that Prowl caused. "Um, Ratchet…?"

Ratchet turned from his work station and looked over. An amused, sympathetic smile touched his face.

"It looks like game over for you," he said.

"Unless you have another trick," Prowl said, smiling as he put a knee on the berth.

"How…" Auri paused to think. "Oh… You were playing that you didn't know where I was to keep me off guard."

Prowl, behind Auri, couldn't see her face, but he heard a smile in her tone.

"Yes, indeed," Prowl said.

"You're sneaky."

"Yes, I am," Prowl said. He put one hand just above her hip and wrapped his other arm around her waist. "And now I've caught you."

"Are you sure?" Auri asked, turning her helm to smile at him, a mischievous twinkle in her optics.

Prowl considered this. "Fairly sure," he said. "What could stop me now?"

"Goons."

"G…" Prowl broke off and glanced over his shoulder as he sensed a motion behind him. First Aid and Jolt had just come into the room. First Aid had a look of awkward uncertainty on his face, and Jolt was looking entertained. They both approached, and they stood, one on either side of Prowl.

Jolt motioned Prowl back from Auri.

"You have goons?" Prowl asked, not moving.

Auri giggled. "Yes, Prowl. I have medic goons."

"Oh." He released her and stepped back.

She got off the berth and turned to face him, smiling playfully and fondly. "You'll just have to keep trying," she said, leaning towards him over the berth a little to tease him. "Bye-bye."

Prowl chuckled softly as she scampered out the door.

Prowl gave First Aid a mock punch in the side, barely touching the medic's armor, and then pulled a stun gun on Jolt.

"Zing," he said.

Jolt cracked up and sat down on the berth to laugh. "You didn't just… ahahaha-!"

Prowl glanced at First Aid, who was endeavoring to not laugh.

"If you play a game with Auri," Prowl said. "You play it well and to the fullest extent." He looked to Ratchet.

"I just have to detain you for ten minutes," Ratchet said, smothering a chuckle.

Prowl raised an optic-ridge then sat down on the berth to read the data-pad that Auri had left for him.

[_All this has been fun! We should hang out and chill after this. Let me know your answer when you see me next. :D]_

Prowl smiled. His answer was 'yes.'

Now he had nine minutes to decide whether he should go to the primary lounge, the secondary lounge, the beach, or the playground. Those were the four chief places for hanging out.

All four places were _fun_.

They could literally _hang_ at the playground from the swings.

There was _chill_ed Energon at both lounges.

"_Let me know your answer when you see me next_." There was nothing interesting on that sentence.

Wait…

Puns.

Prowl grinned at Ratchet, nearly freaking the medic out with such a grin. He smiled quietly for the next eight minutes, and then he went out the door.

OoOoOoOoO

Prowl came to the beach, and he smiled.

There were words carved out in the sand.

[_Sea what I did here? I'm shore you'll know where to go next._]

He laughed softly and took a picture of the words and filed it away safely. He needed to keep these memories forever.

Then he followed her tracks up the shoreline, the sand shifting under his pedes and the wind batting at his door-wings. He loved the beach so much because it fascinated him. The very science of it intrigued him. And most door-winged bots didn't like wind, but it didn't bother him unless it was very hard. He didn't mind the way it played on his wings.

Auri's tracks veered away from the damp, impressionable sand and into the dry shifting sand. The dry sand barely held the tracks at all, but Prowl knew where she was heading. There would be a rocky passageway of boulders ahead, and beyond them was a path to the playground.

Prowl went cautiously through the passageway, half-expecting some sort of trap, but he got to the other side without mishap.

A couple minutes later, he came upon the playground. Auri was trying to get away from the swing, but her hand was magnetized to the metal cable that held it. She was trying to push the seat of the swing away with her pede to make the cable pull away, but the magnet was too strong. She grunted, growling a little.

"Hello," Prowl greeted, barely repressing a smile.

Auri shot him a look of reproach. "It's not fair of you to come while I'm stuck like this," she said, still struggling against the cable.

"What if I was the one who magnetized it?" Prowl asked, optics twinkling.

Auri stopped. "When did you magnetize it?" she demanded incredulously. He had used "was" instead of the conditional "were," so she knew that he had indeed magnetized the cable.

"I stopped by before going to the beach," he explained, clasping his hands lightly behind his back. "I calculated that this would be your next stop after the beach and set the trap accordingly."

"You are sneaky, Prowl," she said, looking pleased as he came near.

"Yes, I am. Fairly the sneakiest."

"That's not humble of you," she rebuked yet giggled.

"I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true," he said, mocking a mock-humble tone as he smiled down at her.

She giggled a little more, delighted with his play-acting. "Only the humans say 'pride before fall,' so be careful."

"Is that a warning?" he asked.

"It could be," she said, lowering her optics teasingly.

"Well… I see no goon hiding places and no creamed oil cups, so I believe I have you caught."

Auri smiled at him as he put a cuff on her free wrist.

"You are now caught," Prowl said, smiling. "You have the right-"

"Prowl,"

"Yes?"

"I'm still stuck to this cable." She grinned adorably.

Prowl kept a firm grip on the cuff and remotely deactivated the magnetizing device that he'd stuck to the bottom of the swing.

An error code bounced back to him, confusing him.

"Wh-"

The swing cable touched his wing and stuck.

Auri jerked free from his startled grasp and scampered off several paces, the cuff swinging from her wrist.

"Now who's the sneakiest, Prowl?" she asked, grinning with delight, fairly skipping in place.

"How did you do this?" Prowl asked, eyeing the cable now magnetized to his wing.

"Well," she said happily, "When I sat down, I stuck and realized what you must have done, so I intercommed Sunny and asked how to demagnetize it, and he 'splained just how to do it. And then he told me just how to take it over and reset it. So I laid a trap so you'd think I was stuck. And then I just reactivated when you were close, and now you're stuck."

"And now I'm not," Prowl said, stepping away. He'd regained control of the remote.

"Eeek!" Auri bolted.

Prowl ran after her.

"Never stop to tell a story if you want to get away," he called, laughing a little.

"You're too sneaky!" Auri yelled back.

"That's I why I will win,"

"Speed limits must be obeyed!" Auri called, transforming as she got to pavement.

Prowl transformed, driving after her.

She headed for the heart of the city.

A traffic light turned yellow as she came to an intersection. She gunned through. It turned red.

Prowl halted. He couldn't run a red for a game. He watched her drive up the road and turn left at the next intersection. He waited. He knew she would be far ahead by the time the light turned green.

When the light finally turned green, Prowl wasn't sure exactly where to go, but he pulled forward and went ahead and turned left.

::Prowl?:: Auri intercommed.

::Yes?::

::It looks like I lost you back there.::

::It looks that way,:: he replied, laying out a route for the race track.

::Who's the sneakiest now?::

::I am.::

::You are silly.::

He wanted to reply and say, "You are darling," but he didn't do it. He wasn't ready for that step yet.

A few minutes later, he pulled onto the racetrack. Auri was a mile ahead just taking it easy, he saw.

He gunned his engine and shot forward.

He saw Auri accelerate swiftly. She had a lead, but he would catch her. He knew. She was doing well in their training sessions, but she was far too inexperienced yet to outrun or outmaneuver him.

Prowl caught up with her and then let her play around with a few evasive driving tactics. Then he flashed his warning lights at her and pulled close.

She slowed down and moved over.

"Transform, please," he ordered.

She transformed to bipedal mode, and he did the same.

"Nice driving," he said, taking the cuff that was still dangling from her wrist. "But now I have you, and you're not going anywhere."

Auri widened her optics in pretend alarm.

"You have the right to remain silent," Prowl said, leaning close. "But, I really like your chatter, so anything you say can and will be enjoyed."

She giggled adoringly up at him.

"Now for the questioning," he said, fixing her with a serious look that barely hid the smile in his optics.

She gave him a look of innocence. "About what, officer?"

"I have you on the records a having stolen something."

"Oh…!" she widened her optics.

"Now, confess."

"Aw… awright… I did steal something," she said, pulling a pout and lowering her wings.

"Okay. So, give it back."

She hid a smile. "I won't until you guess what it was."

He paused. "Alright, when did you steal it?"

"About a little less than two hours ago."

Prowl paused. That was shortly before they started their game.

"Where did you steal it?"

"Mm…" she pursed her lips. "Well… it was a place where I am a lot."

"My office?"

"Uh-huh," she said, nodded. "I stole it at your office."

Prowl paused and considered this. He hadn't seen her take anything at all. He accessed his security cameras and ran through them. She had taken nothing.

He gave her a puzzled look, and her optics twinkled, but she looked a little abashed.

Suddenly, Prowl's wings flicked up as he realized what she'd taken.

"You stole a kiss!"

She grinned and giggled before ducking her helm shyly.

"You're sneaky," he said, smiling at her with a bit of adoration.

She peeked up at him. "Do you still want me to give it back?"

He hesitated. Want for her and fear of disaster washed through him in a conflict of feelings. Then he gently pushed the fear away.

"Yes," he said slowly.

She stood on tiptoe as he bent his helm. She pressed a light kiss on his cheek, and it sent a tingle of delight through that cheek.

He smiled gently at her.

Then she planted another kiss beside the first kiss.

He gave her a slight questioning look but didn't resist or draw back.

"Praxian law decrees that thefts must be paid back in double or triple, remember?" she said, her smile shy but playful. The energy from her pulse was travelling through the cuffs; Prowl could feel it, and it was faster than usual.

"I remember now," he said, a smile warming his expression.

She gave him a third kiss, and then she stepped back just a little. "The penalty is paid. Now do I go free?"

Prowl regarded her seriously. "I believe so. Although… I might put you on probation and keep an optic on you."

"Okay," she said, optics twinkling with enjoyment at how seriously he was taking the game.

Prowl removed the cuffs and put them back in subspace.

"There," he said. "Now…" he trailed off, regarding Auri's pretty face. He wasn't sure what to say next. It occurred to him that he could steal a kiss and run off and start a second round of police and thief. He wasn't ready for that yet, however. Not bold enough, not secure enough.

One day, though, he would be. One day, he would be very bold and steal that kiss. And then he would pay it back triple. And then he'd steal another one. Or maybe he'd steal her spark like she'd stolen his.


End file.
